Deliberations near in ex-BP executive's oil spill trial

NEW ORLEANS - Closing arguments have been scheduled in the case of David Rainey, the former BP executive charged with lying to federal investigators about the 2010 BP oil spill.

Attorneys will make their final statements to jurors Friday morning and the jury is expected to begin deliberations by noon.

The trial centers on calculations Rainey made about the rate at which oil was flowing from BP's Macondo well following the explosion of the Deepwater Horizon offshore rig.

Prosecutors say Rainey manipulated early estimates to match low government estimates. He's charged with lying about it to federal agents a year later. Rainey denies it. His attorneys say he had no reason to lie.

The explosion killed 11 rig workers and spewed millions of gallons of oil into the Gulf of Mexico.